PURE?
by Dreamweaver100
Summary: There's a distortion in dimensional fabric, and Cackletta has suddenly been revived as a child... but is her rebirth the catalyst that will reopen the Void? Some errors in Chapter 1, as I am unfamiliar with Fanfiction's formatting.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue: Split Night 

The night was pitch-black, as it always was. In a dark place, indistinguishable amongst the shadows of the outside world, a lone soul remained… Muffled footsteps were the only thing audible amid the stifling darkness; they trailed back and forth, and as they came to a stop, a high-pitched voice spoke.

"…Yes, yes, that is having its places…" The voice quivered and shook with exhaustion.

A small boy, garbed in black and red, was staring intently at a map. His cloak, clasped with two golden spheres, was tattered and torn. His attire was not in the best condition; his spiraled goggles were cracked down the center—he found himself pushing them up quite often, as he was reluctant to use duct tape to seal them—and his boots were beginning to wear out, with small holes poking through the leather. The green skin covering his body appeared burnt and beaten. From uncovered wounds oozed a blue-black blood, the mark of one who had tampered with darkness and suffered the inevitable path of forced senselessness.

Fawful examined the map closely—he had pilfered it from a castle guard earlier to learn the whereabouts of a special object, one that had caused him immeasurable pain. The Beanstar. He had heard that the artifact had been transported to the Mushroom Kingdom to avoid further attempts to use its wish-granting power for evil purposes.

It was too bad that the authorities of the Beanbean Kingdom did not know that Fawful was hiding out once again in Princess Peach's sewer.

He had survived so much—getting kicked out of Woohoo Hooniversity… getting thrown into the ocean by a barrage of blows from a sharpened sword…even exploding from an overload of dark energy. What would it be for him to abandon his efforts now?

Fawful stomped his foot on the ground. The circled area was leagues away, in Dimble Wood! If only he still ruled Bowser's Castle, it wouldn't be such a huge feat for him to get there. But now, with an injured body and no new mechanized equipment, he was all but hopeless. If only Cackletta was there to help him…

Tears threatened to overflow the edges of his eyes, but he pushed them away both to preserve his own pride and his late mistress's. Instead of crying, he irritably walloped the wall. Not a smart move; it sent waves of pain streaming through his fist, and he let out a small whimper of agitation.

He sat down on a makeshift bed with a loud _thump._ "I have sadness…"

* * *

><p>The Beanwitch was sad. She did not let herself be swallowed by such emotions often. Sitting there, alone, in complete darkness did not help. Sighing, she stared at the wall for the fifth time in as many minutes.<p>

How long had it been since she'd gone? She could not keep track of the time. But as she sat, bored out of her wits as a downright hideous Shayde, she knew one thing. She was feeling remorseful.

She smacked herself on the head to make sure she wasn't going insane. Nope, she was fully conscious and able (at least as able as a dead person was to do anything.).

She had heard his sadness. She had heard his pain. She had heard _everything,_ and she blamed herself. How could she do anything else? It was due to her weakness that they'd failed; her cocky, arrogant means of fighting, her inconsistency with planning… _everything _was her fault,and she'd paid the price.

She longed for a chance to return. Only problem was, her cell was heavily guarded and there was no way Jaydes, queen of the Underwhere, would allow a notorious criminal to escape using witchcraft. If she were to flee using those means, her eternal damnation would be amplified, and she would never even be permitted to_ hear_ anybody, let alone see them.

"You seem awfully depressed."

Cackletta nearly fell off the rock she was sitting on. Startled, she scanned the area for any presences. When she found none, she judged herself as delusional and began to sit down again, in a very wary manner.

"What's wrong? Did you die the wrong way?" The voice paused. "Or… do you have a tie to life that cannot be broken? Is that your fear? That it will be severed?"

"You would do well to show your face, fool." The remark lacked enthusiasm; the voice had buried a dagger in the one spot she had thought nobody could ever touch.

"Oh, believe me, I would gladly do so, if only I had a face to begin with, witch." This alarmed Cackletta more than the voice's appearance in the first place. How could that be—a voice coming from nowhere? "But I do believe I have a way to get you out."

Cackletta was no fool. She knew who to trust, and this mysterious voice was definitely not it. But still, an opportunity to return to life… was that really worth passing up? After all, she was already dead. It was not as if something could get rid of her any further. "Talk."

"Oh, I can do more than talk. Do you see that over there, the skeleton-like dragon?"

"Y'mean Bonechill. Believe me, I've seen him more than I'd like to."

"He's at his weakest tonight, as is the woman in purple."

"I'm not so stupid as to rush blindly out of this cell, in a maddened jailbreak, without knowing first who is giving me this information."

"I do not need to give you my identity to prove this. Just look at her; it's visible in his eyes alone."

Cackletta turned to Jaydes and looked into the monster's dark gaze. His eyes betrayed the pain he was in—it was true. "How did you know?"

"It is the Lunar Eclipse. It is not so hard to remember. Or are you that unenlightened?"

She had heard that before. The Lunar Eclipse, when the forces of dark lost their supremacy and the sun gained control, destroying the bars that closed Hell off from the other worlds—when chaos ensued. Portals out of the Underwhere abounded on such nights, but so far those who ruled the Underwhere had been able to summon enough strength to divert them. Disasters were known to happen on these nights… however, the risk was low, and the next Lunar Eclipse would be in years. Cackletta couldn't afford to wait that long.

"I'll go."

"You run a risk; are you aware of that?" There was a slight chuckle in the entity's voice, as if it was laughing at the witch's nervousness. Upon Cackletta's nod, it added, "All I can do is destroy the charm. You can get past Bonechill yourself, I assume?"

"I may be dead, but I can still make my way around in my after-game."

"Very well then." There was a blinding flash—a swirl of light, and the dark bonds surrounding Cackletta's cell had dissolved into nothing but tiny wisps.

The Beanwitch then proceeded with the escape. Dragging her "body" as quietly as it would go, she crept around a large stalagmite and watched Bonechill carefully. The guardian of the prison was drooping limply, and his body sagged, as if under an invisible weight. Still, he looked on the alert; his eyes flicked back and forth, long neck occasionally lurching to look around. Cackletta was thankful that she didn't need to breathe; otherwise Bonechill would've caught her and sent her tumbling into the depths of the prison once more, where she would have to start over again.

Bonechill jerked his huge head forward. Cackletta jolted and dashed behind a rock that offered more cover, similar to a little Toad girl she'd once zapped. But this wasn't herself she was up against… it was the _freaking lord of the Afterlife's prison. _That was something to be frightened of.

But before she could devise a way to creep around the keeper, a large _CRACK _resounded through the still air. A portal had opened, menacing, raging, and churning with an intimidating aura of hatred.

Cackletta had no time to think, no time to react. The miniature whirlpool of darkness promptly sucked her into its mass, sending her flying into the great unknown. As she was pulled through the darkness, she felt a spark, and then a heat, and then a fire.

She was being revived. Only natural, as whatever dimension she was being so rudely hurled into would surely be one inhabited by the living.

She could feel the shadowy physique of the Shayde she had been fading, being replaced by the fully functional body of a Beanish. With every second, bone reappeared, and muscle latched onto bone, and skin hooked onto muscle. It was excruciatingly painful, but Cackletta found herself enjoying it. The most gratifying part was the feeling of renewed will, refreshed energy, regenerated pieces combining together to form a whole being…

Through the amplified throbbing of her heart, she hardly noticed the extra zings of pain across her face and neck. That was when her sight faded away as well, and she lost consciousness.

**Chapter One: Discovery**

The map was _glowing_. No mistaking it; it shone with a bright blue light. Fawful stood silently, jaw gaping, occasionally wiping his bottle-cap goggles to ensure that he wasn't hallucinating. He tentatively inched forward, cocking his little round head to examine the strange parchment.

To his surprise, the map was not at all glowing by Dimble Wood—right where the Beanstar had been hidden. The light was located relatively close to where he was: just off the outskirts of the Toad Town outside the castle.

Naturally, childish curiosity was piqued, and Fawful's numerous head gears (no pun intended) began to work. Even with his lack of knowledge of the magic arts, he knew that if a map was glowing, something important had to be going on. After all, how often do pieces of paper light up? He knew that he would have to get there somehow—he knew that unless he went to the site, he'd go mad with suspense.

He could get there within a day, if he was careful of the guards. Heck, he could get there in less. All he needed was a good disguise… he'd have to work on that.

Cackletta could not see anything. Her eyes were blocked, somehow…

Was she in subspace? She couldn't know for sure. All she knew was that she couldn't see anything, and there was something at the edge of her mind, being annoying.

"You didn't heed my advice, witch. I didn't know you were that ignorant. You should have stored some energy before plunging into a Dark Tunnel like that."

Suddenly, Cackletta remembered where she was. She was in the portal—the swirling darkness that she had stepped into. The one that had brought her back to life.

Trying to move, the Beanwitch was dismayed to find that motion brought agonizing pain. It was as if something was digging into her, draining her of all strength… like a leech. She raised an arm to feel for her face, and then stopped with a flinch. There was light reflected off her arm. There shouldn't have been any there. And that's when she noticed.

Her arms, legs, and face were glowing. _They were __**glowing**__. _In all of her magical life, she had never laid eyes on a spectacle like this.

Then again, it seemed as if there were suddenly a lot of things she didn't get.

"Do you see that?"

She said she saw it.

"It is you, now."

What the heck?

"Now don't worry… this will only hurt a bit." Cackletta could catch a slight snicker in the way the voice was speaking. But she had no time to contemplate it—suddenly, a wave of pain erupted over her, jolting her newly-reformed nerves, and she fell, plummeting like a comet to the earth below.

* * *

><p>Fawful stepped in front of a mirror-like cabinet to check his appearance. In all honesty, he felt like a complete girl. At least he wasn't so devoted to his disguise as to put on makeup.<p>

A baggy red sweatshirt (acquired in a dumpster) with the stench of rotting mushrooms on it was covering where his black bodysuit used to be, and sweatpants, a warm-greyish color, served as a cover-up for his laser gun and other mechanics. So, he smelled, but that was good—Fawful had never smelled in his life, so that would discourage passersby from the idea that it was, in fact, him. (It was annoying, but it worked.) As a completion to the outfit, he'd made new glasses, this time _without _the swirl that, due to his lacking eyesight, he'd never noticed anyway.

It was time to go.

He instinctively began to creep out of the gutter, and then internally scolded himself. _I must be acting with much casualness. Idiot of stupidity I am! _So he began to stroll calmly and confidently—or at least he _hoped _it looked calm and confident—down the alleyway of the sewer and past the castle gate, almost to Toad Town, and then—

"Stop!" Well, why should he have expected any different. A capable guard, among a pile of the idiotic minions of that oh-so-angelic Peach. He always managed to get the competent ones.

Fawful felt himself starting to sweat. Would his strange speech mannerism be his downfall _again? _"Er… um… Hi to you?"

"Uh… hi." The greeting was tossed out with great disdain, and revealed more than a little suspicion. "Kid, how'd you get here? You got a passport?"

"No, I am not needing a passport, for I have… the connections." The guard blinked once, and then asked:

"To the prince? The queen? The _shopkeepers? _Who do you have 'connections' with?"

"Do you have authority to be asking?" Fawful was relieved that, even in his manner of speech, it still sounded like a relatively normal sentence.

"It appears that I do. It also appears that I won't be getting anywhere with this conversation anytime soon. You can pass through, kid—just remember, I'll be watching for suspicious activity."

Fawful quite honestly didn't know what to say to that. He warily stepped past the guard, attempting to restrain himself from running away while screaming like a little girl. He grimaced at the lookout, who sneered back with a swipe of his lance, and then stamped away, with the horrible realization that he couldn't insult the guard without drawing attention to himself.

What he didn't hear upon stomping away was the snicker from the sentry, and the slightest words escaping his lips:

"Yes. That's him, all right. Master will be pleased."

"Ouches!" Fawful yelped as he stumbled over a spot of rock that jutted out of the ground. "Stupid environment, you like to have the tricking of me. Well, I will be showing you who has the bossiness! Yes! How are you liking _that?_"

The rock did not respond.

Fawful plopped down on a patch of soft grass, huffing with exhaustion. He'd been walking for _four hours straight. _Fawful wasn't such a fan of exercise; he cursed himself inwardly for not reconstructing his headgear while he'd been in hiding.

He sighed again, and got up to continue on his tiresome way. Pulling out the map, he saw that the illuminated spot on the map was now shining with such force he thought he would fall backward—

_BOOM. _The noise sounded from across the stream ahead.

Fawful's feet thudded across the grass as he momentarily forgot his exhaustion to investigate. Skidding to a halt in front of the stream, he covered his eyes; the light shone into them with a force so powerful, he thought he'd become blinder than he already was. Then, the light suddenly turned black.

The entire field, and the area around the stream, was darkened in such a way that Fawful could hardly see in front of himself. He dimly groped around for something to cling onto. Upon finding a low-reaching branch close to the shoreline, he looked around. Nothing. Nothing except the never-ending sense of foreboding that the small child could not shake. That, and the steady throbbing of a pulse, sending rippling waves throughout the darkness.

He slowly but surely made his way across the stream, hopping across a few rocks that protruded out of the water. The small waves nipped through his clothes with a freezing-cold bite. Setting foot on the easygoing, cushiony grass of the meadow, he crept ever closer to the birthplace of the dark-light.

When he finally was close enough to distinguish the source of the strange power from the surrounding dark-light, he stifled a gasp, and felt his heart speed up at rates he didn't think to be possible.

There, at the center, surrounded by charred grass and swirling energy, was a young Beanish girl.

**Chapter Two: Eyes**

The girl's chest heaved with labored breaths, but Fawful otherwise would have thought her to be dead. She lay sprawled out on the grass, her face contorted in pain.

Fawful thought it was a little creepy to be sitting in some kind of magical aura, next to a girl who was just lying there. Kind of awkward. He cocked his head in examination. She was wearing an ordinary-looking sundress, stained so heavily with dirt that one could hardly tell it was purple. A matching purple bow, fluttering in the breeze created from the strange energy, sat atop her head.

A slight twitch from the girl, and Fawful scrambled away. "Are… are you having the up-ness?"

A moan. Then: "Ehhhh…. Five more minutes…"

She was up.

* * *

><p>A lone figure floated peacefully in the night. It looked up; the view he received was one of nighttime beauty, complete with a dark blue sky, twinkling stars, and the light of the ever-present moon. He scowled at it, kicking the ground and sending a clump of dirt flying into the air.<p>

A low growl sounded, splitting the silence. He shrugged it off; even with his keen senses, he didn't sense anything particularly dangerous.

The growling steadily became louder. Now he figured that whatever was making the noise was probably dangerous.

The noise was now a roar. What could produce such a noise?

The figure turned around—and saw a gigantic green dragon swooping towards him faster than a rigged Bullet Bill. He narrowed his eyes, gave a wide smirk, and… held out his hand. The dragon's eyes widened, it tried to stop—

It flew straight into a barrier constructed entirely of brick-hard magic energy.

POOF! A cloud of opaque purple smoke filled the air.

Then: "Ow! Owowowowow! What was that for?"

From the smoke, a green, square-like girl had emerged. She wore a pretty yellow-and-red dress, with a shiny gem embedded in the fabric just under the collar.

The figure hopped lightly out of the range of the smoke, feet hardly touching the ground as his yellow-and-purple cloak billowed out. He landed without a sound, the air inflating his black pants so they looked twice as puffy as they already were.

"It was for your sudden ambush, that's what. Learn how to fight and maybe you wouldn't lose like a sitting duck in a nest full of thorns."

"Well. You don't have to be so harsh."

"Mimi, believe me, I'll be harsh when I want to be harsh. It's a shame I'm too tired to laugh at you right now."

"And, here we go again with the sarcasm. If you're so tired, then sleep, Dimentio."

"I can't." Dimentio adjusted his mask with the tip of a finger. "It's impossible, as impossible as trying to dig yourself out of a metal box. There's some kind of disturbance in the—"

The jester's voice was abruptly cut off as the earth shook with violent force. A loud BOOM exploded in the pair's ears.

"What was that?" Mimi's voice betrayed a sea of fear.

"What I was trying to say—a disturbance in dimensional energy! I feel like I'm going to be sick… ahaha…" He clutched his stomach, and slumped to the ground.

Mimi rushed over, in a panicked daze. "Dimentio! Are you all right, or are you just faking?" The groans from the jester were answer enough. He wasn't all right at all. "Oh… oh no! Um—um—I'll get you to a doctor, or something! Hold on!" She heaved the magician onto her back—he was heavier than she would've thought—and began to summon a rectangular box, translucent and glasslike. As the box spun upside down and back once more, she prepared herself for the familiar feeling of "flipping"; teleporting between places, which were quite often different dimensions. As the multicolored space-time continuum whizzed past her, there was another BOOM—and all turned black.

* * *

><p>"Where… am I?" The girl's voice was hoarse; Fawful guessed she hadn't been drinking enough fluids. Well, he hadn't either. She'd just have to deal with it. "Eyehhh…"<p>

The small boy couldn't help but freak out. "YOU ARE BEING TAKEN OF THE PRISONERS! BE PREPARED FOR THE TORTURING AND FOR THE BUZZ-CUTTING! Lord Fawful will be taking you now!"

The girl suddenly sat upright, eyes broadening. "Fawful?"

Suddenly, a fresh wave of pain rushed through her, and the echoing words: '_Don't speak to that boy!' _

"It's me, I'm—"

The pain jolted up her spine again. '_DO NOT SPEAK TO HIM! You are not to reveal yourself! _Cackletta glared threateningly at nothing in particular. _If you dare to tell him who you are—'_

_'I get it, I get it!' _Cackletta was now genuinely distraught. If she couldn't tell Fawful who she was, then where was the point in being here at all? She'd just have to hope he'd figure out somehow.

She tried to stand—but it was too much. The physical pressures of the atmosphere, and the newness of her body, were already wreaking havoc on her stamina. The dizziness resulting from that was unbearable. She sprawled out on the grass with a _flop. _

The fake introductions would just have to wait.

**Chapter Three: ?**

The marketplace was crowded and bustling with excited energy. People of all sizes, shapes, and colors—and species—rushed through the busy streets, boasting to their friends about the expensive wares they had purchased. As Fawful pushed his way into the writhing swarm of people, he caught a glimpse of a group of young girls giggling as they sorted through various outfits, some lightly colored, some dark, but all painfully frilly.

Fawful hated this place with a passion. Especially considering it had been so convenient to get to from the field. All he had needed was food, but _no_, that girl he'd found wanted nothing more than a new dress and something to look at. Now they'd taken twice the time that the Bean had anticipated. Annoyed, he tapped his foot loudly on the cobblestone footpath, once in a while muttering "I have FURY." At long last, he saw the girl striding confidently down the path—an air of annoying self-pride floated around her, and Fawful could think of nothing else to compare it to besides "a swarm of the stingy yellow fink-rats that has much buzzingness."

But, the girl's arrogance aside, he had to admit that she looked a lot more like a person than before. Even though her attire was just a cheap purple top (adorned with yellow ribbon) and an equally cheap pair of khaki shorts (she preferred to go barefoot, Grambi knows why), she still somehow managed to pull the look off without seeming like a hobo.

His eyes spun. He quickly shook his head, and stomped toward her. "WHY IN THE NAMINGS OF GRAMBI DID YOU TAKE SO MUCH LONGNESS?"

All she had to do to cease his rampage was shoot a vicious glare in his direction. She whispered one short sentence—"_Don't you _ever _speak to me that way again"_—with as much authority in her voice as a commanding officer in the army. It scared Fawful like nothing he'd ever seen.

Instinctively, he muttered, "Yes, ma'am," and began to scuttle away to a nearby shop. The girl stopped him, however, just by letting out an indignant grunt.

"Excuse me, but if you don't mind, I've got something to show you. I found this—" she held up a poster with assorted messages on it—"on the street. It says something about a necessary meeting in the middle of the city."

* * *

><p>Dimentio awoke to find himself under a dark-barked, gigantic oak tree. The leaves swayed peacefully in the wind, and his first thought was of how much the tranquility annoyed him.<p>

His second thought was of how much Mimi was annoying him. The square-like girl was wandering around aimlessly, examining the area… and making a lot of noise while she was doing it. He plugged his ears (from behind his mask) and prayed for an excuse to get out of this accursed meadow. But before his prayer was complete, he noticed something crucial: the dimensional field in the vicinity of where he was sitting was more messed up than anywhere he'd ever traveled to. Could it be the source of his sudden illness?

The only possible answer was yes.

* * *

><p>Fawful traveled triumphantly back to the girl, waving about in his hand a large wad of cash.<p>

"And… how did you get that?" Her expression was not so much disapproving as curious.

"Fawful has decided not to be stealing in such a place of crowdedness. Instead he has sold some things. Just some small trinket-ish things…"

She noticed him looking down shamefully at the missing golden pin that had been on his left shoe.

"ATTENTION! ATTENTION!" A voice was blaring from a loudspeaker. "IMPORTANT MEETING FOR ALL TOWNSFOLK! PLEASE REPORT BY THE ENTRANCE TO THE GEAR SHOP. THANK YOU."

Fawful jumped awkwardly, startled at the sudden announcement. (Of course, he'd expected something of the sort, just not that _loud._) Moaning from the ringing in his ears, he muttered, "Let us be going…"

The young Beanish girl started to head toward the meeting place, and then turned, saying, "If we're going to be going to the meeting together, you should probably know who I am."

"And you would have the being of…"

"My name is Mona. Just call me that." For, after all, what better thing was she to come up with? Fawful could not possibly know that "Cackletta" was not her real name. That, the voice would allow. Geragemona shortened to "Mona"—simple but effective, for Fawful seemed pleased to not be in unknown company.

* * *

><p>Mimi couldn't help but gape in awe at the huge city they'd come upon. It glistened with the joy of spring. She flipped her green hair out of her face and beckoned for her ill companion to come forth.<p>

Let us suffice to say that the happiness of the city didn't improve his foul mood. In fact, he felt twice as sick just looking at it. He straightened himself up (for, of course, he could not float in his present condition), and surveyed the scene. From what he could tell, nobody was on the outskirts of the place. There was most likely a commotion at the center. A commotion that could be a perfect cover, given the person seeking refuge was intelligent enough to form a plan (which, of course, he was).

Oh, this would be great fun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Four: Bad Tidings Come Your Way**

The crowd moved as a whole towards the dingy-looking gear shop, Fawful and Cackletta slinking among them. The Beanwitch knew that she looked nothing like she had when she'd been "older"; however, she could not help but cringe in apprehension, being so close to those who had once hunted her down with the intent of torture and, finally, execution. Looking warily around her, her eyes locked on a specific target…one she'd known that Fawful had been hoping desperately to never see again. _Ever_.

She poked his shoulder to get his attention. When the child finally turned around, his jaw dropped, and soon closed to form a low, shockingly deep snarl. The offender was Peasley. That hair-flipping, sword-swinging, ostentatious-

Cackletta almost broke out in hysterics at the look on her apprentice's face.

_That boy, so furious over such a petty rivalry...? How childish. You should punish him. He's even more unenlightened than you are..._

The voice. Of course. _You mean "having fury"? Yeah, he does that a lot. Now shut up, I'm about to be listening to something._

Her retort was apparently not enough for the voice (who Cackletta was now beginning to believe had an obsession with the word "enlighten"). _I will come and go as I please. Luckily for you, my patience with this has been depleted for now. Goodbye, witch._

The voice departed just in time; as Cackletta felt the ominous presence leave, the announcement began.

"Attention, all residents and tourists! An important issue has been discussed regarding your safety. To help spread the message, we've asked the monarchs of both the Mushroom and BeanBean kingdoms to pay a visit." _Oh,_ thought Cackletta, _that's why so many people are here. _"Because the beautiful Peach couln't make it, our fabulous Prince Peasley shall now be taking the stage. My prince?"

The prince, dressed in an unnecessarily fancy cloak, stepped daintily onto the wooden platform on which the introductory Bean stood. He began to speak in a crystal-clear voice: "Dear citizens, I have very concerning news to tell you. A huge explosion has been reported in the meadow by Plack Beach, in the Mushroom Kingdom. This town, in its unfortunate location on the border of our country and our neighbor's, has been recieving some very odd waves of dark energy as of late. We suspect the two events are closely connected, but the source seems to have been jumping around, and it is now assumed to be somewhere in this area." A few nervous murmurs broke out in the midst of the crowd. "Shh, settle down," the prince said calmly. "I assure you, my mother and I are doing our best to track down the base foundation of these strange energy bursts. You have no cause for worry, at least not yet."

Now the murmurs swelled into rude shouting: "'Not yet'? And what happens when we _do _have something to worry about?" "I'm scared, Mommy!" "Are the bursts radioactive?"

At the same time, Cackletta found herself shaking, sweating on the nape of her neck. Heart pounding madly against her chest, she turned to Fawful with two words spoken under a short breath. "Going. _Now._"

And at the same time as that, a certain green-haired girl and black-clad jester moved in the same direction.

* * *

><p>It'd been an hour, and still Mimi did not know where exactly she and Dimentio were. The jester didn't seem to be lost at all, however; by simply glancing at his surroundings, he somehow gained an understanding of the territory. As the bedraggled pair traveled, they'd tried to avoid people in general, so they'd supposed that it was as good of an idea as any to make camp on a virtually abandoned beach. Mimi was sick of pretending; she knew that neither of them were up for any more walking; now that the dimensions were disconnected, no more flipping was going to happen, at least not for a while.<p>

The tent was simple, constructed out of the limbs and huge leaves of the trees, and taking further shelter in the bushes. It looked sturdy enough to provide shelter for a night or two.

Exhausted from the day's strange events, Mimi plopped down on the dirt floor, not even caring when her dress got dirty. Her last sight before slipping into unconsciousness was her companion looking up towards the sky, with the same faked smile he'd always worn.

* * *

><p>Fawful could not comprehend why Mona, who was just seconds ago carrying herself with pride and authority, was now acting so childlike and afraid at the mere mention of possible danger. Not even he, a child who new full well the dangers of darkness from his encounter with the legendary Dark Star, was afraid. Before he got a chance to ask, however, he was dragged by the arm out of the crowd and the town square. He had a feeling that she would keep on dragging him had he not yanked his arm out of her grasp. From there, he reluctantly obeyed her hasty command to follow, and tailed her like a little duckling.<p>

Once she was sure they were safely away from civilization, the girl plopped down in the soft rolling grass, heaving not from exhaustion, but from some kind of mental anguish.

In other words, it looked like she'd been talking with a ghost, and it hadn't been a pleasant conversation.

Before he could open his mouth to ask if she was "having the sickness", she threw up. He winced, turned around, and started examining their location as if nothing had happened.

Upon rummaging around in the leaves for a few minutes, he came to the conclusion that the two were nearing the place where he had activated the Blooper statue to use against a dumbfounded Bowser. If he was correct, it should still be spouting water. Ripping a few leaves and twigs off a low-growing tree, he fashioned a pair of cups that looked more like bowls than intended. After that task was complete, he pushed through the bushes and assorted plants of the ground, to find the water still flowing from the spouts on the statue.

As he watched the splashing of water into the makeshift cups, he noticed that it was unusually dark-colored. He leaned forward in concern. The water wasn't getting any clearer.

It was morphing into a deep, dark, bloodcurdling black.

An omen.


	3. Chapter 3

The water was black. Completely, totally black. It scared Fawful more than anything he'd ever seen before. _Water should not have blackness... this is having pollution of none..._

"GYAAAH!" The Bean screamed, flailing backwards into the sand, as he felt a hand rest upon his shoulder. Turning around, he saw a glimmering eye, shining yellow as the sun. He could make out nothing more in the darkness.

"Don't scream. You'll wake her." The voice was smooth and gentle, but Fawful had enough experience with insanity to recognize the tension hidden behind. "She hasn't slept in a while."

"Who-" Fawful's cry was cut short as the hand clapped itself over his mouth, muffling his high-pitched voice. A snap, and the area was suddenly illuminated. This, however, did not help the Bean's current state of fear, for what he saw next was much worse. The figure's face was covered entirely in an eerie mask, half-black and half-white, that moved as he spoke. He wore a tight black shirt, covered by a yellow-and-purple poncho, and black, billowy pants. On the collar of his poncho was a luminescent yellow diamond. Despite the allure of the diamond, Fawful could not tear his eyes away from the mask. Instinct ripped through him to either tear the eerie thing straight off, or dash away with all his might. Instead he just stood there, quivering like the child he was.

"My name... such a trivial question in total darkness." Fawful saw the slightest of smirks flicker across the person's face. "However, I shall let you know this: if you make the slightest misstep while you are near me... you are in for quite a show. Ahahahaha~!" The laugh chilled Fawful to the bone, but it certainly got the point across well enough. The Bean stood perfectly still, knowing that one wrong move would earn him his death.

Now the hand was inching its way across Fawful's shoulder, creeping towards his throat, where it was sure to be looking for a death-grip on his windpipe. The child, paralyzed with fear (or a basic Freeze spell), could only watch as the suspicious figure readied itself to kill. The hand clenched around his neck, and his entire body screamed for air, but he knew better than to struggle. He knew to ignore his racing thoughts, to ignore his heart, which was frantically trying to escape from his chest, to just bear with the pain... just bear with the pain... just a little bit longer...

"STOP!" Another voice echoed across the clearing as a girl in a pretty dress darted out from behind a large rock. "Dimentio, what are you _doing! _Do you just choke everybody who happens to walk by?"

"Mimi." The jester released his grip on Fawful's throat, and the child fell to the ground, gasping for air to fill his oxygen-depleted lungs. "What are you doing? I thought you were sleeping like an exhausted little kitten."

"You have such nerve! Golly, just look at the poor thing-you nearly killed him! I thought you agreed we wouldn't do that unless we were in danger!"

"He could have had sabotage in mind."

"And what exactly would he be sabotaging?" _I am saying... er, thinking yes, to what would I be bringing sabotage? _Fawful had to wonder why the girl was just as clueless as he was.

"Ahahaha! You don't know anything, you spoiled little girl! Ahahahahaha~!" At Mimi's puzzled look, Dimentio continued. "He seems innocent, but I sense a very familiar little... _personality trait _in that freakish little green head. The child's less of a 'cutie pie' than you think."

Mimi self-conciously clutched her green curls. "Hey, watch it! You should never underestimate a well-trained fashionista!"

Fawful was beginning to get a little creeped out by this conversation, but he couldn't move for fear of being attacked again. His beady little eyes darted across both figures, analyzing them, memorizing them so he'd be able to find some kind of weak point. Then the strange jester resumed his own examining of Fawful, who'd clearly been labeled "unwanted trespasser". The yellow-and-purple cloak puffed out as a light breeze twirled across the beach. The mask moved again, inhaling. The Bean couldn't take his eyes away from that mask. He wanted so desperately to run away, but the facial ornament seemed to be emitting some kind of magic. It drew his attention to the hypnotic yellow eye...

"Are you alone here?" The words jolted Fawful out of his trance.

"What-ing?"

"I said, 'are you alone here'_._"

Ah, that was right-Fawful had been bringing water back to Mona...

"Y-yes."

"I heard that stutter, and I know you're lying. So, I will ask again._ Are you alone here_?" There was considerable aggression in Dimentio's tone.

"..."

"So the answer is 'no', then. Very well." He turned around to his partner. "Mimi. Shall we send him back to fetch whoever he's with?"

Mimi jumped and made a bratty little squeal. "Oooh, I'm an authority now! Sweet! This is totally going to be-I mean, yeah, let's do that. Bad cop, IN!" There was a poof of purple smoke, and Mimi reappeared wearing some sort of trendy police officer outfit, complete with a Rubee-encrusted sheriff badge. "Now go get yer pardner, kiddo." She pulled on Dimentio's cloak, and whispered a proud "How was that?" with sparkling eyes.

As Fawful, thoroughly disturbed, began to rush away, he heard a loud groan. "Mimi, you can't just send him off. He'll run away. Go with him."

"Um... okay... But do I have to get out of my prettiful copwear? It's so flattering!"

"...MIMI, JUST GO."

"Fine."

There was the shuffling noise of feet on the sand, and then Mimi was suddenly beside Fawful, staring at him like a top-class bodyguard. The young scientist pretended not to notice her glare as he walked towards where he'd left his fellow Bean, who was most likely unconscious. Her piercing eyes were sending chills down his spine.

He kept walking through the sand and bushes.

She kept following him.

He felt like he was going to explode.

She kept following him.

He was impressed he'd kept his temper under control for so long... oh, never mind, it'd only been two minutes.

She kept on following him.

His brain was starting to hurt.

She kept on-

"Hey! Fawful!"

They'd reached the camp, and Mona was scurrying down a sand slope. "You're finally back. How long was I zonked out over there? It's already night-time... Eyeh? Who's this?" The last question was spoken with a particularly sharp tongue, and an even sharper talon pointed accusingly at the green square girl-shadow-follower-annoyance. "Did widdle Fawfie pick up a girl whilst abandoning another?"

Fawful sighed heavily. _Oh, this will be a night of much longness..._


	4. Chapter 4

Cackletta glowered at the duo before her. They looked back at her, Fawful in a _oh-noings-this-will-have-badness_ kind of way, and the freaky square girl in a very naive one.

"Who is this, Fawful?"

The girl interrupted before the Bean could respond. "Oh, hello, I'm Mimi. Call me Mimikins." She gave a dainty little curtsy, and then she spoke to Fawful. "So, your name is Fawful, is it? Cute! Sounds like a mix of 'guffaw' and 'awful'." While Fawful blushed angrily and turned away, Cackletta struck the ground with her foot impatiently. _Of course it is! What else would it be? 'Guffaw' and 'prettiful'?_ "So, what's your name?"

She was getting sick of this "Mimikins" girl already. In a very irate voice that was practically a smack in the face of complete and utter hatred, she spat out a response. "Mona."

"Well, great! So, you're gonna have to come back with me. There's something you, um, need to do." Cackletta clenched and unclenched her fists. _Who does this girl think she is, ordering me around like that? Such _nerve_!_

_Oh, you know you'd best follow her. What's the harm? It'll be an adventure. And we all know how much you'd love to go somewhere other than here... _

_What I know is that I'm not in the mood for you right now. Got it? Good. Now shut up._

_Hmph. Such a petty little mortal cannot tell someone like _me _to shut up. _An immensely powerful electric shock shot up her spine, and she convulsed violently, gagging, triggering strange looks from both Fawful and Mimi. She didn't care-her nerves were burning too much to notice. _And you thought you were a master of the electric spell. 'Eyahahaha' yourself, witchie-witch. _And then the voice left as quickly as it'd come.

The Beanwitch, still shaking, narrowed her shocking-pink eyes into slits. "Well then. Shall we go?"

* * *

><p>Fawful was beginning to get used to Mona's company, no matter how she frightened him. <em>She<em> seemed to think she was an almighty authority on him, and _he_ was beginning to think he shouldn't question her opinion. Besides, having somebody push him around all day brought up a warm wave of nostalgia.

She even looked like her...

He shook his head violently and returned himself to the present.

The sand crunched under his boots, and he found himself sweltering under his sweatshirt. Of course, it was summer, so he'd been prepared with a white shortsleeved shirt under it. The next few minutes consisted of walking, and several pathetic attempts to pull the sweatshirt off while doing so. He almost collapsed with heat by the time he finally managed it, but he'd succeeded in passing the time, and they were now entering another little clearing, the one where he'd nearly been choked to death just a half an hour ago. In the middle of the clearing was the tent, which Fawful never really noticed, constructed of leaves and branches. Dimentio was nowhere to be found.

"Dimentio! Where are you? I've brought them! Dimentio," Mimi called. "I'm not in the mood for this right now."

There was a silence. Fawful, looking around at everyone's reaction, saw that Mona still looked completely peeved. He couldn't tell if it was from Dimentio's disappearance or not.

"Boo." The jester dropped out of a nearby tree, hanging upside-down on a branch. Mimi was the only one not to jump. "Oh, Mimi, I'm so very _proud _of you. Bring them over here." Fawful glared at Mimi as she tugged on his arm, but he decided to come with her. Mona, however, was more hesitant. She stared warily at the jester, her teeth grinding. Fawful could see unnaturally sharp canines emerging from under her lip. Finally, the girl gave a quick nod, and stepped over beside him like a guard dog.

"So, who would you be?" Dimentio came closer to her, and narrowed the eye slits on his mask. Fawful shuddered as he watched the strange, enchanted movement of the thing. "Another petty little wi-" His sentence was cut off by the Bean girl's hand clapping over his mouth.

"_You'd better keep quiet_,_ swine_," she hissed.

"Mmmph!" He tugged her hand away from his mask, the ornament turning a furious shade of red to imitate what his face-if he had one-probably looked like. "Well, if that's all you have to say, then you're not a very wise one, are you? Your mouth is stuffed full of puny words, like a rope beginning to unravel from unbearable stress. Ahahahaha~!" Then his jubilant smile turned into a deadly smirk. "I'd advise you ever so_ politely_ never to do such a thing again. Now, where were we...? Ah, yes, we were discussing the matter of your identity."

"And why would I tell you who I am?"

"Because I can see you already told my little friend there." He gave a little nod towards Mimi. "If you're wondering, I can tell by her quite flustered, unbearably amusing face! Ahaha...HA!"

* * *

><p>The Toad had been running for hours when he finally came upon his destination.<p>

Behind a huge mass of ferns, bushes, and awe-inspiringly large trees-an old-growth forest, he was certain-he found a gaping cave mouth, stalactites hanging from the top like fangs. He looked back behind himself once, twice, to ensure that he had no followers, and hastily jumped inside, wincing as he felt the magic barrier burning his skin like some kind of sick acid.

Well, at least he was allowed in. If not, he'd have been fried immediately.

He let out a call, his voice quaking with fright. "Ma'am?" He cleared his throat, and tried again. "Ma'am?" Beads of sweat ran down his face, and his breaths were short as he prepared himself for any possible danger. Such things were common when he dealt with his mistress.

"Oh, you're back, are you?" The voice curled in an odd fashion, and seemed to lure the soldier further into the cave as it twirled and danced around his eardrums. Like a Siren, one of the legendary Old World creatures the Toad had read about during his studies. "Well, you'd be wise to come here, wouldn't you." It was not a question; she was simply forcing him to approach without expending any necessary energy. "Did you gather the necessary information I told you to?"

"Y-yes, Ma'am. I found him in the Mushroom Kingdom. He was weird, a-as usual. Some kind of excuse 'bout havin' 'the connections' or somethin'. Then he up and ran away. Headin' somewhere. Probably the source o' all your problems, Ma'am, if I'm allowed to say so in my dear humble opinion o' mine."

"Oh. Well then." There was a clip-clop sort of noise, the kind one woud expect from a woman's high-heeled shoes, and the mysterious female emerged from the shadows. Her hair was a deep purplish color, and it spiked out in several directions, like a celestial body; the spikes were not really "spikes", per say, but more like gentle curves that strayed in unnatural directions in a ponytail-like structure. (This hairdo was natural, as far as the soldier knew.) She wore a purple dress of a slightly lighter color and a fancy air, and knee-high combat boots that matched her hair color. All of these things complimented her piercing red eyes, which had pupils that the soldier couldn't help associating with a rabid cat's; they also exaggerated her shockingly pale skin.

"You... are you satisfied with me, m'lady?" The question was asked nervously as the soldier twiddled his thumbs.

"That is all I needed to know. I'll be able to track him down on my own now. But no, I'm not satisfied, nor will I ever be, and no, I will not thank you. Do you find that explanation sufficient?" She waved her hand in an authorative way, dismissing the still-shaking soldier. As he shivered and dashed away for his dear life, she smirked and rested a pale hand on her perfectly sculpted face. _This is going to be a fun ride. You can count on it... Fawful._


End file.
